Desborough man jailed for raping seven-year-old girl

A 20-year-old man has been sentenced to four years in prison for historic rape offences.

Matthew Barfoot, previously of Ironwood Avenue in Desborough was convicted of raping a seven-year-old girl on a number of occasions when he was 12-years-old.

Barfoot, who was sentenced at Northampton Crown Court on January 4, was found guilty of seven out of 11 counts.

He was sentenced to four years in prison, was barred from working with children for life and will remain on the Sex Offenders’ Register indefinitely.

DC Brian Gape, who led the investigation, said: “It took tremendous bravery for this girl to come forward after over five years to tell us what had happened to her when she was seven-years-old.

“I hope that Barfoot’s conviction will go some way in making her feel like her voice was heard and that we were committed every step of the way in getting her justice.

“No matter how historic the original offences are, Northamptonshire Police will always take them extremely seriously and investigate them fully.”

If you want to report a rape or sexual offence, no matter how historic, Northamptonshire Police encourages you to call 101 or in an emergency, 999, or you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Following the case, a spokesman for the NSPCC said: “Barfoot’s victim showed great courage throughout this case and it’s vital that all victims of child sexual abuse know it is never their fault and it is never too late to speak out.

“Sadly one in three sexual offences against children are committed by other children so it’s very important to educate young people about abuse and inappropriate sexual behaviour from an early age.

“That’s why the NSPCC speaks to primary school children as young as four about recognising and reporting abuse through our Speak Out Stay Safe service which reached nearly 25,000 children in Northamptonshire last year (2016/17).

“We also encourage parents to talk about sexual abuse with their children using the age-appropriate PANTS rule, with resources available at www.NSPCC.org.uk/PANTS.”